Top 100 Distance Drivers – 2020 Edition

Top 100 Distance Drivers

Comprehensive 2020 Edition

Welcome to another Disc Data blog! Today we’re going to take an in depth look at the Top 100 Distance Drivers. We’ll be using our sales data from the past year to determine which disc golf distance drivers are the most popular. We’ll first take a look at the Top 100 list, then we’ll break it down into smaller, bite-sized pieces.

Note: We can’t show exact sold quantities, but we can show you the sales figures when compared to each other. This still provides a great visual presentation of which discs are the most popular when compared to others.

The Top 100 Distance Drivers

That is a pretty long list of distance drivers, so let’s break it down by speed. That will allow us to see how similar discs compared to one another in sales.

SPEED 14 DRIVERS

The fastest distance drivers on the market are those which are given a speed-14 rating. That speed rating is based on the width of the rim. The wider the rim, the higher the speed. That basically means that the wider the rim, the faster (more powerful) the player must throw the disc to keep it aloft. Higher speed can equate to more distance, but only if the player has the skill and arm speed to keep it in the air. A speed-14 disc usually has a rim width of 2.5cm, the widest allowed by the PDGA.

The Corvette took the #1 spot for the highest speed discs, mostly because it was the newest distance driver from Innova in the 2019 year. The Ballista Pro came in 2nd as a very good driver from the Latitude 64 line, designed for experienced players.

SPEED 13 DRIVERS

Still on the faster side of the distance driver spectrum, the Speed-13 drivers are very popular. They are slightly more accessible to the general player pool than those with the widest possible rim. But they still require a lot of speed to maximize their distance performance.

The Infinite Discs Pharaoh has been a hot seller for Infinite Discs ever since it was introduced as the fastest distance driver in their disc line (manufactured by Innova). It likely takes the #1 spot because Infinite Discs was the only place to get one during the 2019 season. However, the Pharaoh will become available to other stores as 2020 progresses. The Shryke and Boss by Innova take the next two spots and then the relatively new Raider by Dynamic Discs took the #4 position.

SPEED 12 DRIVERS

The most popular speed rating in drivers appears to be the Speed-12 class. This rim size is more manageable for many players, including professional players who throw some of the most popular drivers in the market.

The Destroyer by Innova was once again the #1 selling distance driver of 2019 at Infinite Discs. It is thrown by a lot of professional players and amateurs alike. So, it also takes the top spot among speed-12 drivers, though the Zeus by Discraft (in the Paul McBeth line of discs) gave the Destroyer a run for its money when it was introduced in 2019.

SPEED 11 DRIVERS

Discs with a Speed-11 rating have been picking up in popularity among many players. While they may initially pull the trigger on a 12 or 13 because they see experienced players throwing them, those same players often discover that they can actually get more distance with a speed-11. For a lot of players, this is about as fast as they can honestly handle.

The Wraith by Innova is one of those distance drivers that has been increasing in popularity lately, taking off as the new favorite for more of the amateur players. However, you will see some professionals, including some of the best female players in the world, throwing a Wraith.

SPEED 10 DRIVERS

Usually a Speed-9 or Speed-10 driver is considered a good place to start for new players who want to test the distance driver category. It is fast enough, but not overly fast even for newer players. These are the best-sellers with a speed-10 rating at Infinite Discs.

The Beast by Innova took the #1 spot in this speed category. The Orc has something of a cult following, selling particularly well in the collector’s market, due to the incidental swirls and number of “pre-flight number” discs floating around. They are more rare when they are found without the flight numbers included on the stamp. The Avenger SS by Discraft has recently picked up steam as another Paul McBeth signature edition, though it is quite a bit slower and more beginner friendly than most other discs that he is seen throwing in tournaments.

SPEED 9 DRIVERS

The Speed-9 class of discs is actually that fuzzy line between a true “distance driver” and a “fairway driver.” Being slower, they are somewhat easier to control in precision situations and work nicely as entry-level distance drivers for newer players.

There are some speed-9 discs which are on the top-sellers chart because their manufacturer calls them “distance drivers.” However, there are other speed-9 discs that are not on this chart or included in the data because the manufacturer calls them “fairway drivers” or “control drivers.” Hot sellers that don’t appear here because of that designation would be discs like the Innova Firebird, or Innova Valkyrie, or Dynamic Discs Felon, etc.

So, when it comes to speed-9 discs, expect the numbers to be as fuzzy as the designation between being a distance or fairway driver.

QUANTITY SOLD BY SPEED DESIGNATION

Here is one more interesting chart for you. It shows the most popular speed class when the sales are separated into the speed categories. Once again, keep in mind that the Speed-9 class is fuzzy because it excludes the sales of many popular speed-9 discs that are categorized by their manufacturers as control drivers or fairway drivers.

It doesn’t take a trained eye to notice that the Speed-12 category is the most popular. That is the category that includes the top sellers like the Destroyer and the Zeus.

We hope that you have enjoyed looking at this data. Feel free to share your opinions and favorite distance drivers in the comments.

Thanks for this breakdown. There are so many surprises! One surprise is that the regular Ballista isn’t more popular. On the other side of the spectrum, congrats to the Wraith for being awesome and for still being highly appreciated!

Most players I know get max distance with a Destroyer. For me playing on tight holes a Destroyer has too much turn and too much fade, better chance of hitting a tree. I’m a forearm thrower so my choice would differ from backhand throwers. Wraith’s are great but I prefer a Krait. I used a Crank for a few years, but my arm isn’t as good as it was when I was younger. I prefer a Sampo over an Orc and use it for most my drives, as it is more overstable than an Orc.